Hasselblad

Below you can find leaked information from the Hasselblad website on the upcoming Hasselblad X1D Mirrorless medium format camera which appears to be based off of the Sony 50 megapixel CMOS crop sensor that is currently used in the Pentax 645Z, Hasselblad H5D-50C, and PhaseOne IQ150, IQ250 and now IQ350 MFDB’s.

Photographers Laura Bailey and AORTA were given early access to the camera to create a gallery of sample images.

Pricing leaked images obtained by PhotoRumors show the camera, as well as list the pricing which is $8,995 for the body and Hasselblad XCD 45mm f/3.5 lens is $2,295 and the Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/3.2 lens which will cost $2,695. So body and lens $11,290. No word on adapters or a lens roadmap as of yet (but don’t get your hopes up for either).

Quick Takes

- First off, it’s an EVF (Electronic Viewfinder), and without espousing all of the benefits of an OVF (Optical Viewfinder) over an EVF here…..let’s just say the worlds best EVF is still no where near the quality of an OVF..- To make an affordable “prosumer” grade product, Hasselblad hasn’t really cut costs, but has cut features to make it more “basic” with an Overly basic user interface, and the removal of helpful buttons found on the H body and XF..- It’s limited to 50mp; It’s limited to a small sensor. Only 1.3x crop this is not true medium format. It seems likely that means the entire XCD lens line will almost surely be limited to that 1.3 crop. You’d be investing in a lens and body lineup that aren’t full frame medium format. Full frame medium format rangefinders are inevitable…Why invest in the little brother as going full frame won’t make it that much bigger/heavier and would make such a nicer camera..- First Generation. Like any “world’s first” it’s a great idea, but how likely is it that they knock it out of the park the first time. An X2D or what is sure to be a wave of followon MF rangefinders is inherently more interesting. I am concerned about a future lenses and expandability.

Last weekend, I attended PDN PhotoPlus 2014, and recorded a number of videos with various manufacturers that interested me. These include, Digital Transitions (PhaseOne, MamiyaLeaf, Arca-Swiss), Cambo, Alpa, and Arca-Swiss as well as Blazing Editions a print making service. Don’t really have much of a set up for this but I think the videos give a nice look at some of the new products that were announced at Photokina 2014 that we haven’t gotten to see in the flesh yet. If you weren’t able to make it to NYC for PDN PhotoPlus 2014 then I hope these videos will help you get to see and better understand some of the products that where on display.

Capture One 8 Pro Tips from Digital Transitions

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My PhaseOne dealer, Digital Transitions (http://www.digitaltransitions.com) and my friend Doug Peterson present 6 tips for the new CaptureOne 8 Pro software from PhaseOne. CaptureOne 8 produces a lot of important workflow and efficiency improvements as well as introducing a updated user interface to Apple’s refined interface in OS X Yosemite. Aside from the features highlighted above some tools have also been improved, however you will come across most of these in the course of your use of the software which can be downloaded here (http://www.digitaltransitions.com/page/capture-one-downloads).

A couple of other notable features are the improved Shadows/Highlight and HDR features as well as the new Black and White / Grain features. Shadows/Highlight controls in capture one have had their algorithms refined to produce more realistic and natural looking results. This is especially apparent when there are bigger exposure differences between the foreground and background (like you might encounter with a landscape).

Generally regarded as a joke, pieces of software that attempt to introduce grain into a digitally converted black and white image (or even a monochromatically captured one) fail to produce anything resembling the true character of the real silver-nitrate grains that make up actual film. Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that PhaseOne has cracked the code for this in their latest software but they have created a very nice feature. Getting overly obsessive about minor details as PhaseOne is want to do, they chose to attempt to create a better, more realistic model for grain in CaptureOne 8. They started by studying the physical grains of film under microscopes, and eventually wound up researching the way that those grains behave in gradients and different lighting situations. From this they created an algorithm that produces much more realistic grain. That being said, its not real grain, and it never will be. However, there are a few situations where I can see this feature being very helpful. For starters, one of the cameras I own and use is the Leica M9 Monochrom, at low ISO’s this camera produces files that are almost “too” clean for certain applications. The way that I generally get around this is that I simply shoot the camera at higher ISO’s where there is some grain introduced, since it is rendered very differently in a monochromatic image and generally gives me the results that I want. However, I am going to be interested in testing out this new feature to see if it yields more pleasing results. Pleasing results in the sense that the image looks more natural, not that it looks like film, but that it looks more natural. This is a very important distinction and is also the other situation where I think that this feature may come in handy. If we have converted a color image into black and white and want to make it look more pleasing and natural this feature will help (I believe) in making interesting results and nice images, but not replicating actual film grain which is entirely different and not something that to date a computer has been able to replicate.

Alpa Switzerland

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In an exciting change of pace for the PhotoPlus, Alpa was here again and showing off their full line or products. At Photokina 2014, they presented a number of potentially very interesting mounts for the Alpa FPS (which can be used in conjunction with all of their Alpa 12 cameras including the TC, SWA, SWC, STC, MAX and XY or on its own as a separate camera). These mounts are for a number of different medium format digital lenses. Alpa has had adapters for Canon and Nikon lenses, and the Canon Tilt-Shift’s have been particular favorites of owners of Alpa FPS’s particularly because of the Canon 17mm TS-E’s ability to cover a full medium format digital sensor. These new mouths include Hasselblad H, Rollei 6000, and Contax mounts with electronic communication planned for them in the future to allow for some potentially very interesting control of these electronic lenses which could lead to stepping which would be great for focus stacking.

Cambo

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Rene Rook from Cambo (and also my host when I toured the Cambo factory in the Netherlands) presents the new Cambo Actus miniature view camera. This is an extremely small, extremely rigid view camera platform for both 35mm and medium format mounts. Here it is shown with the Sony A7R and a medium format digital back, both of these configurations are interchangeable on the same camera as well as a number of lenses, there are a number of interesting options for using this camera in conjunction with the Sony A7R since you can use medium format and large format lenses to get a lot of area out of the image circle of larger image circled lenses. And further as a miniature view camera, with a medium format digital back and digital lenses from Schneider-Krueznach and Rodenstock this presents a very compact and portable option for using movements on the go, very tempting in both configurations. I hope to get a sample of this camera soon to review.

Digital Transitions (PhaseOne, MamiyaLeaf, Cambo, Arca-Swiss)

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My preferred PhaseOne dealer, Digital Transitions (digitaltransitions.com) was showing the full line of PhaseOne and MamiyaLeaf backs. I asked Lance to help go over some of the differences between the PhaseOne and MamiyaLeaf models, especially since now we have the IQ1 series (including the new CMOS IQ150), the IQ2 series (new CMOS IQ250) as well as a CMOS censored camera from MamiyaLeaf (as well as standard CCD models). Its important to understand the differences between these models to help decide which camera is right for you.

PhaseOne has also relatively recently released the PhaseOne 40-80mm LS f/4.0-5.6 Zoom lens which is an absolutely massive zoom lens that is not to far off in size from the Hasselblad 50-110mm f/3.5-4.5 HC AF Zoom Lens. Hopefully I will be able to do some testing soon, but I have been told that this lens preforms very nicely, this is something that I will be interested to see since zoom lenses are particularly difficult to make. Hasselblad has had some real winners, especially with the Hasselblad 35-90mm f/4-5.6 HCD lens which was one of my favorites for the system when I owned it.

Arca-Swiss

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Arcs-Swiss released a number of extremely exciting products at Photokina 2014. Most excitingly they announced a number of new electronic accessories including two new shutter modules that work with all of their cameras! Arca-Swiss released a number of new products that I will detail below;

- The Arca-Swiss Central Shutter (CS) this is a direct replacement for Copal mechanical shutters which are the industry standard though no longer being made. The Arca-Swiss CS can take Copal 1 and Copal 0 lenses (which covers almost all modern digital lenses) and is controlled by their dEx Controller. The CS can go up to 1/250th of a second with a Copal 1 lens, and higher with a Copal 0 lens (since the opening is smaller). The CS can be used with all Arca-Swiss cameras, including the new Universalis, all R-series technical cameras, and all Arca-Swiss view cameras through their proprietary screw mount used on all of the lens boards for these various cameras.

- The Arca-Swiss Focal Plane Shutter (FP) mounts between the digital back and the camera, and thus can be used on all Arca-Swiss cameras up to 6×8 (possibly 6×9) and tops out at 1/3000th of a second which is very impressive as well. This allows for shutterless lenses to be used like older “vintage” lenses as well as the potential to start being able to use 35mm lenses like Nikon and Canon’s tilt-shift lenses (among others with lens mounts coming soon).

- The Arca-Swiss Cloud DM Wireless Distometer (DM) is a much more compact (and wireless) followup to the eModule Cloud and helps you find the distance you should focus the camera (its effectively a rangefinder). This becomes a powerful tool when coupled with a few of Arca-Swiss’s other new products.

- The Arca-Swiss dEx which includes the Arca-Swiss Remote Control Unit (RCU) and Micro Power Unit (MPU) allows for wireless control of devices attached to the dEx system and will display information from the DM module as well as the FP and CS shutter modules. The MPU is a better pack that will power the whole system, Arca-Swiss is selling a special mount with an AS plate on the bottom so that they system can conveniently be mounted to the bottom of a camera next to the tripod head where it is accessible and out of the way. This system, again, can be used on the Arca-Swiss R-Line, M-Line, and F-Line system cameras as well as the new Universalis.

- The Arca-Swiss Focus Rail Readout (or trolley) is probably my favorite of the new products because of its implications for use with the system as a whole. This is a small item that mounts on the rail of a rail system camera like the M-Line or F-Line and most importantly the new Universalis. It then will communicate with the dEx command module and display the distance that the camera is focused at digital allowing for precise focusing when combined with the DM module.

- The Arca-Swiss Universalis is very similar to the Cambo Actus (though the Universalis is slightly larger, and the Cambo is impressively robust for its smaller size) and also very compact. However a defining difference between these two cameras (for me anyway) is the ability of the Arca-Swiss Universalis to communicate with all the new goodies detailed above from Arca-Swiss. Arca-Swiss’s new products have radically changed the medium format technical market with their modularity and complex set of features which combines for endless possibilities and the most digital control in a sector that was caught between the analog and digital world. Now the Universalis brings all of these benefits in a small package that is compatible with both 35mm cameras as well as medium format digital backs. I actually think that there is a place in the world for both the Cambo Actus and the Arca-Swiss Universalis since they will appeal to people who want different things (as well as those who are already committed to one system or another). I’m very happy about these cameras, because while technical plate cameras are very nice, versatile, and compact nothing beats the control or tactile feedback of a rail camera, and now that these have been effectively miniaturized they allow for themselves to be much more user friendly.

Blazing Editions – Metallic Printing

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Immediately behind Digital Transitions Booth (where Arca-Swiss was housed as well) was Blazing Editions (Blazing.com) who offer a number of printing and photographic services but also interestingly a wide array of printing options on Metal. Metal can produce some very interesting effects (which some may see as kitschy) however Blazing Images also offers printing on a metal substrate without the metal showing through and their process (explained in the video) yields some extremely detailed results. Digital Transitions had provided a number of medium format digital files for Blazing Editions to print and show off at PDN PhotoPlus 2014 and the files looked amazing printed. Anecdotally a fun little detail is that Blazing Editions can CNC Machine a photographer’s signature onto the print for a very interesting (and I think very fun affect).

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I hope you have enjoyed my PDN PhotoPlus 2014 conference, it was very exciting because there were a number of medium format players there in force and ready to show off their new products that we all lusted after from Photokina 2014. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Welcome to my PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2012 (and ShootNYC 2012) coverage. This year did not bring too many shocking changes however there are still some noteworthy products, especially from lens makers Carl Zeiss and Schneider Optics (as well as others) which highlight good trends in photography for the next few years. It also features interviews with Multistitch, Nikon, Cokin Filters, Olympus, PhaseOne, and Hasselblad (ShootNYC).

PhaseOne

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I will be doing a full and In-depth review of PhaseOne CaptureOne 7 Pro in a week or so. However, until then, Doug Peterson from Digital Transitions introduces and goes through some of the key features and improvements in C1 7 Pro.

Carl Zeiss

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At Photokina 2012, Carl Zeiss announced a number of new products, and most notably two new series of lenses for markets that that they had not previously addressed. They also announced the 135mm f/2.0 APO-Sonnar lens which is available in both ZE (Canon) and ZF.2 (Nikon) mounts. This lens had only previously been available in the CP.2 cine series of lenses and is now re-housed like the rest of their prime lens series for 35mm cameras. Next, Carl Zeiss announced (at Photokina) the production of lenses for the Sony NEX mount as well as the Fuji X mount (for the X-Pro 1 and X-E1 digital cameras). These are in fact, all metal lenses, with superior optics as well as autofocus. Carl Zeiss’s 35mm lenses (excluding designs for Sony) have all been manual focus and this is a pleasant change. It is in fact good that they are recognizing that a) not everyone wants to shoot manual focus 100% of the time and b) that manual focus is sometimes less practical on smaller format cameras. The final and most interesting new series of lenses that Carl Zeiss has announced are their new line of high resolution lenses for digital cameras. The first lens they have announced in this series is the Distagon 55mm f/1.4 ZF.2 lens (which I believe will also be available in Canon mount). This is an outstanding lens, and I look forward to it as well as the other lenses that they will produce in this series. All of these lenses are excellent and show us that serious lens manufacturers are starting to see the potential in smaller formats, and are now producing lens for them like they have in the past. To a sceptic of the smaller formats like myself, this is an interesting development (especially in sub-35mm formats) because considering the pedigree of these companies and lineage of lenses they have produced, their nod of approval can be seen to offer confirmation of the quality of these smaller cameras. Of course, it could also be a directive from the business office to boost profits, but hey I guess I am an optimist.

I have always enjoyed the 135mm focal length when I have had chances to shoot it. I say when I have had chances to shoot it because, I have not owned a 135mm lens ever. I have eyed the Nikon, Canon (and Leica) lenses of this focal length, however have not committed to them. The Nikon 135mm f/2.0 DC AF lens is outdated and due for an update with newer lens coatings, autofocus, and overall build quality. The newer Nikon 85mm f/1.4G is superior to the 85mm f/1.4D (I still have both but thats another story) and the change between these two lenses (the 85mm f/1.4D is comparable to the 135mm since they were from the same time period) is enough to make me wait for Nikon’s updated version of this lens. Canon has had an autofocus 135mm f/2.0 lens for some time and by all accounts it is supposed to be absolutely amazing performance wise and I would have to agree. Of course these lenses have Autofocus, something that this Carl Zeiss 135mm lacks. However, the control afforded by manual focus (something which is executed excellently by Carl Zeiss) combined with the accurate focus confirmation systems of newer DSLR’s makes it a wholly usable lens, and not a significant inconvenience. The lens is built excellently (of course) and preforms very well (as you can see from the samples below taken on the Canon 5D MrkII).

My first introduction to the Carl Zeiss telephoto lenses was the 100mm Macro, which preforms excellently both optically as well as functionally with a smooth and long focus throw which is pleasant to use. This 135mm preforms very similarly in terms of its functionality and its optics are no slouch, when this optic becomes available later this year, It will definitely be coming home with me.

Carl Zeiss only offered prototypes for viewing at PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2012 showing the final designs for the lens bodies which are all metal and come with screw in metal lens hoods. These touches are very nice considering that the majority of smaller-format lenses lack these touches. The lenses also have autofocus which is a pleasant change from their manual focus lineups of lenses. I have no doubt that they will preform very well and am curious to see their performance as well as what other focal lengths they will announce in the future. These lenses are a pleasant and realistic change compared to the Carl Zeiss lenses which are provided for the Sony system which are manufactured by Sony and not Carl Zeiss. However these lenses are produced in Germany by Carl Zeiss and I have no doubt that this difference will show in their performance. I am slightly disappointed that Carl Zeiss has not announced any plans to produce lenses for Micro Four-Thirds cameras (which you would assume would be an easy thing to do considering they have developed these lenses for the NEX and X-Pro 1 systems already) but I am willing to bet (and this is 100% conjecture) that this may happen in the future.

The Carl Zeiss Distagon 55mm f/1.4 is an entirely new design produced by Carl Zeiss for newer high-megapixel 35mm cameras (specifically like the Nikon D800 and D800e) which are considerably more demanding on lenses then older smaller megapixel count sensors and cameras. The lens is exceptionally well built and has a very very nice rubber focusing ring which is silky smooth to touch and operate. One concern that I have however is that the focusing distance “screen” does not seem to be weather sealed which can be an issue when taking this lens outdoors (where you will be wanting to use it). Considering the exceptional built quality of this lens, and the fact that it is not obviously a studio lens, I am willing to be that this lens is in fact either weather sealed or will be before it ships. The staff at the booth, were not briefed about this subject and could not offer any insight into whether it was currently weather sealed or would be prior to launch.

f/2.8

f/1.4

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However as we can see, optically it preforms great. These sample shots were taken with my Nikon D3s and were shot at f/1.4 and f/2.8, and even on the D3s which has a lower megapixel count (then the newer D4 which I was shooting the videos with, and the D800/D800e) the excellent sharpness and overall performance of this lens can be seen.

Multistitch

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Multistitch is accessory/tool/solution for use with 4×5 cameras and digital capture. It allows for every conceivable medium format digital mount as well as 35mm cameras to be used with it (or course on different versions of the plate). The Multistitch is essentially a plate which is attached to the back of a braflok back 4×5 camera (almost every 4×5 camera) after focusing and composing and removing the ground glass focusing screen. The premise is by flipping the orientation of the digital back 4x times you can cover a larger image area (with overlap) to extend the usefulness of older digital backs (a 22mp will become approx. a 75mp effective resolution) through stitching in photoshop (or other software). The video demonstration above demonstrates this tool rather effectively, and I will be getting my hands on both the 35mm version (most likely Nikon mount) as well as the PhaseOne 645DF M-Mount versions for review since it seems to be an interesting solution for using full view-camera movements in the studio (and possibly the field?) from a 4×5 camera with digital capture technology.

Nikon

Nikon was not terribly interesting for me this year, considering they did not announce anything of any terrible significance to me this year. They did just announce (and show for the first time) the new Nikon V2 camera, the successor to the V1, which I am only pleased with in the sense that it is good that it gets back a real grip, and some of the practical form factor of DSLR’s. I believe that the most serious small-sensored cameras are those which do not abandon the SLR / DSLR form factor. One lens that I would be interested in experiencing on this camera was the also newly announced development of a 30mm (32mm?) f/1.2 lens for the Nikon mirror less system. Mirrorless systems afford great low-light opportunities with a slew of f/1.4, f/1.2, and f/0.95 lenses which offer all sorts of creative possibilities. While in this case, this one lens does not sell a system to me, if they continue with some ultra-fast autofocus lenses, it could have some potential, however knowing the larger camera manufacturers, they live to disappoint. Micro Four-Thirds has considerably more fast lenses available which makes it a considerably more attractive system since it has a number of native f/1.8, f/1.4, f/0.95 lenses across a number of focal lengths, not to mention the ability to accept Leica M lenses (via adapters) which are generally f/2.0 or faster. Anyway they had these two mirror less products, as well as my favorite part, the ultra-telephoto section where they had all of their extreme telephoto lenses mounted on D4′s to play with. Included in these is the spectacular 800mm f/5.6 (their longest production autofocus lens) which will unquestionably be accompanying me on safari if I ever so choose to go on one.

Olympus

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Olympus has been doing a considerably good job of late surprising me with the quality of products they are putting out. The OM-D EM-5 is the closest I have come to date to buying a Micro Four-Thirds camera. It preforms very well and has a number of very interesting and high quality lenses available for it. Olympus has made some absolutely and insanely impressive Four-Thirds lenses, which can be used on this camera (with autofocus via adapter) as well as a number of Micro Four-Thirds lenses which do not disappoint. They have released a series of high quality metal bodied lenses, which are a step up from their normal Micro Four-Thirds fare in the past which has been quite pleasing. Now, they have shown to me for the first time the outstanding new 75mm f/1.8 and 60mm f/2.4 Macro lens which are exceptional to say the least. Unfortunately, I forgot an SD card, so you will have to believe me that these cameras and lenses offer exceptional image quality.

The 75mm f/1.8 is Olympus’s high-quality / fast / telephoto solution which is a very substantial lens. It is heavy, all metal and can be felt to contain some serious glass. While it is large, it does surprisingly fit very comfortably in the hand, and on the camera when being held and is not oppressively big like a Leica Noctilux on an M9. Olympus has done a very good job of balancing the weight of this large lens with the diminutive weight of the OM-D EM-5 body. The lens offers very quick autofocus, as well as buttery smooth manual focus, which is atypical of lenses for this system, however should be expected of this ~1000 dollar beast of a lens. Bokeh is nothing short of astounding and focused areas are rendered beautifully sharp. If you plan on doing street photography, or any kind of portraits with this camera, the 75mm f/1.8 lens is THE lens to get. If I get a Micro Four-Thirds camera system, this will absolutely be one of the lenses that I buy. The lens also offers silent focusing for both still and more relevantly movie recording. (I am not sure if this lens is weather-sealed but I would assume so)

The 60mm f/2.4 Macro is another exceptional lens for the Micro Four-Thirds system. It is built just as excellently as the 75mm f/1.8 lens and offers the possibility of 1:1 macro photography. This lens is fully weather-sealed and features a clever autofocus control dial on the left hand side of the lens barrel. It offers close-focus, full-focus, and far-focus switches as well as a clever fourth switch which sets the lens to its closest 1:1 macro focus setting. This then allows for the user to move the camera closer and further from the subject until it is in focus. This may sound tedious or confusing, and I may have poorly described it, but it is a good feature which makes macro work easier, and certainly faster which can be essentially when photographing things like insects.

Schneider-Kreuznach

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Schneider is currently doing the same thing as Carl Zeiss in terms of diversifying their lens portfolios. To me, Schneider is personally the finer of the two companies, considering they still make Large Format lenses etc. They also happen to make the excellent series of Leaf Shutter lenses for PhaseOne/MamiyaLeaf. At Photokina Schneider announced plans for expending their 35mm lens line from just Tilt-Shift lenses to regular lenses as well. They also announced plans for Micro Four-Thirds lenses as well (which makes sense they are part of the Micro Four-Thirds consortium). Both of these series of lenses seem to be very high quality, and I was able to get some hands on time with one of the lenses in their new 35mm line up, the 85mm Makro lens in Nikon mount. They will also be producing a normal and wide lens in this series which will be manual focus exactly like the Carl Zeiss lenses. The lenses are amazingly superbly made, and I slightly prefer them to the Carl Zeiss lenses however they are are all excellent in terms of built quality. Unfortunately they did not their Micro Four-Thirds lenses on display at PDN Photoplus. but hey they did have the iPro iPhone lens and case system, lol.

Schneider had two new lenses that they announced at Photokina 2012 on display. They had a new 28mm f/4.5 perspective control lens in Nikon, Canon, Sony or Pentax mounts. It features 8 degrees of tilt and 12mm of shit and offers the same fully rotatable design feature like the companies other perspective control lenses. The other and more significant series of lenses they announced are a new line of standard lenses for 35mm cameras. The lens that they had on display (still a prototype) was the 85mm Makro f/2.4 Symmar lens. This series is also announced to have 50mm f/1.8 and 35mm f/1.8 variants which are very high quality lenses for DSLR’s. They offer electronic integration for control of the aperture with Nikon (and possibly Canon) mounts. As you can see from these samples, the lens is very however seems to suffer from chromatic aberration (purple/green) but this seems to be something in the coatings which will be worked out before the lenses are shipping, this I have no doubt. However as can be seen in the second shot, the lens offers very nice out of focus elements, and sharpness which are quite pleasant and this lens is a pleasant focal length to have for macro especially if you want to take advantage of it for creative portraiture at close working distances. I am pleased to see these lenses as well as the the other lenses in the series and these along with the new Zeiss lenses may compliment each other nicely for a high quality lens set.

Schneider’s Micro Four-Thirds lenses are a very good sign, because these are some high quality optics which offer autofocus and excellent built quality. There are a ton of very high quality optics which can be used on Micro Four-Thirds however many of them are not purpose built (e.g Leica lenses et al.). There are some higher quality and unique optics available for Micro Four-Thirds like those offered by Voigtlander (manual focus f/0.95 lenses) and SLR Magic’s less high-quality and more creative lens solutions. So Schneider’s lenses will be welcome additions to the line-up of high quality optics like the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 and 60mm f/2.4 and other m4/3′s lenses. Again, do not doubt that they will be excellent, and certainly if I decide to purchase a Micro Four-Thirds these will also be coming home with me.

Cokin Filters

Hidden away in a distributors both (notice I say A distributor to hide the fact that I don’t remember which one) were these new Cokin UV MCUltra-Slim screw in filters. These are absolutely categorically the thinnest filters I have ever seen. You cannot believe how thin these are and pictures do not do them justice. They will be available around January and I am very eager to get my hands on these. If when tested they do not degrade image quality in any observable way (only the worst quality filters do this of course) then they will be unquestionably going on all of my lenses (except PhaseOne but that’s a different story too). It’s always great to find these little things that do in fact make a difference, however are almost never covered by anyone and consequently never noticed, but areundeniably still gems.

[Vulture Camera Straps]

Shoot NYC / Hasselblad

Hasselblad announced the H5D, and the world sighed because they also released the Lunar which we will not even honor by discussing. However the H5D, like the PhaseOne 645DF+ also launched this week with CaptureOne Pro 7. The Hasselblad H5D offers slightly changed esthetics which were partially required for the technological changes which took place. However, we can all agree that it would have looked significantly better in all black. Officially, I was told that the camera looked “too small” in all black (which was done as a prototype) to which I sardonically replied “oh god, who would want a camera to look smaller!”. It would have looked better in all black like everyone else, but oh well we can’t have everything. The user interface which has remained virtually unchanged in the H series camera since its creation has finally been giving a 21st century re-vamp. The bottoms on the digital back portion of the camera (I pause before saying digital back because if its a closed system, is it originally a back?) have been changed and now function considerably better then they did before. The GUI on the back of the camera has also been improved and is much more responsive and fluid then the previous version, although maintaining the same design it is entirely new and much better then previous versions. The camera’s weather sealing has been improved and a number of small places where water could get in have now been sealed. The CF slot door, is no longer a flip open, but must be slid back to be opened and has silicone/rubber weather. The viewfinder has now had the seam treatment (since it is removable from the body) and the contact areas between the back and the camera have also been given this treatment. The camera also runs off a battery that is 50% more powerful, since the new electronics in the camera require more power. However the new battery can also be used on previous generations of H series cameras giving them a longer lasting battery.The camera’s top controls have been rearranged. However most importantly, the back of the camera can now be scrolled through using the two wheels available to the right hand when gripping the camera. These can be used to pan through images (which is considerably more responsive and does not need time to buffer on the higher quality screen on the back) as well as to zoom in and around an image which makes shooting with the camera considerably more pleasant. These controls can also be used when accessing the menus on the back of the camera to make selections.

The firewire port has also received a bit of a revamping which could be a curse or a blessing depending on how you look at it. First the firewire port has a protective door which can be slit back (and will snap back into place when released) which is part of the weather sealing improvements on this camera. The firewire cable itself has also received some improvements. Firstly, it should be noted that any FIrewire 800 cable can still be used with the camera, however Hasselblad has

produced their own cable with a few unique features. Rather then sticking directly out of the camera, Hasselblad has introduced a Firewire cord with a 90 degree bend in it, which helps to manage wires. If this was the only reason for this unquestionably expensive Firewire cord, it would be ridiculous however, it also features a proprietary mechanism (known to us lay folk as a groove) in it, which allows for it to be locked into the camera when inserted. This means that the cord cannot be accidentally pulled from the camera during shooting. Conversely as Hasselblad acknowledged, this means if the cord is pulled, the camera is going down with
it…..So you decide for yourself if this is an improvement or a poor idea. However this new connection is quite strong, another thing which Hasselblad was eager to point out, and demonstrate by inserting the cable and then tugging on it, while smiling, nodding its head and saying “ah yes see it is quite strong!”. However, a comment was then made that the cable could support the weight of the camera entirely. Of course, being a bit of a sado-masochist I then encouraged/berated the gentleman helping me into holding the camera by the firewire cord in the air. At first he sheepishly did it holding his hand under the camera (not supporting it). However, I now fully engaged in this experience goaded him into removing his hand. Which, to his eternal credit he did in fact do, and the camera’s weight was in fact entirely supported by the cable. So Hasselblad (a term which I have used both to describe the company and the representative helping me) gets a few points for this, but again whether it is useful or not to you is an entirely different matter.

The next time you are in the Kandahar Valley in Afghanistan standing on the precipice of a extremely high cliff creating some fine art landscape images and are ambushed by the Taliban’s crack karate team, and within the tussle, your camera is thrown off the ledge and you are only able to grab the firewire cord right before it slips over the edge and into the abyss, you can feel safe in the knowledge that the camera will be safe and remain firmly affixed to the Firewire cable.

In all seriousness though, the camera does offer some minor improvements over the older generation of H series cameras which may make it an attractive upgrade, however not as attractive as the H4x since the H4x is in fact an open system camera (meant to appease H1, and H2 owners who were pissed about Hasselblad’s closed and proprietary H3D and H4D systems. The sensors and image quality from the H5D are exactly the same as those within the H4D series of cameras, and the changes are entirely in the body of the camera. And while I, like may others dislike Hasselblad for a (growing) number of reasons, this camera does offer some improvements to those already invested in its system.

Hasselblad also had a few other announcements for us. They have released a new macro extension tube type device, which accomplishes closer

focusing not through adding distance between sensor and lens, but by adding optical elements which decrease the size of the adapter (which is

pleasant) making it much more comfortable to use on the camera with almost all of the lenses to allow closer focusing. To me, simply hearing about the idea, and not commenting on its image quality and optical performance, this seems like a very good idea, since I always like to be ableto have the option to get closer to a subject (thinking like when I am using the 80mm, 100mm, or 150mm lenses etc). Hasselblad also released a 24mm f/4.8 lens. It is a 1/3 or more stop slower then the Leica (Super-Elmar-S 24mm f/3.5 ASPH) and PhaseOne (Schneider-Kreuznach 28mm f/4.5 LS D) equivalents which are going to be discussed further in my PhaseOne 28mm lens review which comments on both its namesake and these other newly released medium format ultra-wides. But anyway, the Hasselblad 24mm accepts huge 95mm filters, which is sort of an inconvenience but necessary evil for this lens. It is built and functions in the same was as all of the other Hasselblad lenses, which is to say excellently.

The 300mm focal length is common place in 35mm DSLR’s however it is an atypical and unique lens in Medium Format Photography. 35mm DSLR’s have come to have super telephoto lenses with focal lengths of production lenses commonly reaching 800mm with a few rarities like the Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 which using the coupled teleconverter becomes a 400-1000mm f/5.6 lens which is the same speed (aperture) as Canon’s super telephoto 800mm f/5.6. Medium format on the other hand is typically used for different kinds of work where telephoto capabilities are not often needed. There are rare examples of lenses exceeding the 300mm standard for medium format camera systems. Notable examples of these are the Mamiya 500mm f/4.5 C (Manual Focus0 the Hasselblad / ZiessÂ 300mm Â f/2.8 Tele-Superachromat TPP (Tele Power Pack) and Pentax FA SMC 400mm 5.6 ED. The current surviving medium format leaders (Hasseblad and Mamiya/Leaf/PhaseOne) each have their own 300mm f/4.5 autofocus lens in the Hasselblad 300mm f/4.5 HC and Mamiya 300mm f/4.5 IF APO lenses. I have not had any experience with the Mamiya version of this focal length however I have heard that it is a very good lens. -

The Hasselblad 300mm f/4.5 HC Lens was one of the lenses that I rented along with the PhaseOne P65+ (mounted on Hasselblad H2 Body) for my spring break trip to Costa Rica from K&M Camera in NYC. This lens was the stand out for me because I found it very useful and the lens that allowed me to take the best images. The Hasselblad 300mm f/4.5 HC lens has an equivalent focal length of 182mm on a 35mm format camera. This means it is a short to medium telephoto lens by 35mm format standards however it is quite long for medium format. -

This lens is superb in every way. Contrary to my comments on about the Hasselblad H system bodies the lenses are built like tanks. They are not built on the same optical level as a Leica lens, however they are superb and built to last. They are all metal and very heavy. You know that your holding a serious lens when you hold it. When I used the 300mm lens I had absolutely no complaints about it. For the shots I will showcase below they were all taken on a tripod. It is possible to utilize this lens off of a tripod, it will have to be done at fast shutter speeds. However as with any lens in the telephoto category it can be better utilized from a stabilization device like a tripod or monopod. This lens is sturdy and it is absolutely everything that you expect from a lens of this calibre.

The following are two of my favorite pictures from this trip and they were both taken with this lens. They were both taken on the Hasselbald H2 with a PhaseOne P65+ digital back which was rented from K&M Camera in NYC for the time that I was away. I used this lens mounted to my Gitzo Series 5 carbon fiber tripod.

1. THE LIZARD

While not a particularly dangerous journey to get to Gaunacaste National Park, it did take a lot of time and multiple forms of transportation. First we woke up early and left the hotel with a driver for a multiple hour journey to the national park. Then to get to where this particular picture was taken involved a riverboat. Now the boat and driver were both private so it wasn’t an uncomfortable journey by any sense of the imagination but it was a long one. This picture was taken from the boat. I had set up my Gitzo 5 series tripod on the deck of the boat and left the 300mm lens attached. At certain times I took the Hasselblad H2 and PhaseOne off of of the lens (which was still mounted to the tripod) to use it with other lenses like the Hasselblad HC 120mm f/4 Â macro lens. I had the Luxury of also having my Hasselblad H3Dii-39ms which worked with theÂ Hasselblad HCD 35-90 f/4.0-5.6 zoom lens allowing me to use the PhaseOne P65+ digital back with the 300mm telephoto lens. When I saw this shot, I knew it would be good, or at least I hopped it would. The original picture looked like this:

Here is where the magic of the PhaseOne P65+ comes into play. This digital back of course has a 60mp sensor which up until very recently was the largest in the world (Leaf and

PhaseOne have recently started producing 80mp digital backs). It’s versatility can be greatly appreciated with this photograph. The 300mm lens first allowed me to get this close to the Iguana. However it was not nearly close enough to make a powerful image. If I had been using a lesser camera this would not have been possible. By lesser camera I mean one with a lower mega-pixel count. Even if I had used my Hasselblad H3dii-39ms digital back I would not have been able to create the crop required to make this a powerful image. I had to create approximately a 275% crop to make the final image that you see above. The end result yielded me an image with roughly 15mp theoretically. However since this was taken with an almost full frame medium format camera the detail and color renditions far exceed that of a simple 15mp 35mm DSLR. Initially when I had sat down to edit these images I was disappointed by the lackluster appearance, however I soon realized the versatility that a 60mp file gives you. Of course, Ideally it would’ve been ideal to frame the image the way i had wanted it without a crop, but this wasn’t an option. This is where the versatility of the PhaseOne can be appreciated. If the final image had been framed and taken sans cropping in post it would have yielded an unbelievably detailed result. That said the end result that was created is still very sharp and with great detail. When i had this image printed at 40×24 inches I was amazed at how great it still was even though it was a very heavily cropped image. I should also mention that I used Perfect Resize 7 (formerly genuine fractals) to increase the size of the image to allow me to be able to print it at 40×24 inches. I was also very impressed by this softwares ability to do this. I had heart great things about its abilities however I had never experienced them mostly because I had never really had a reason to use it for anything. Once I was home and I was looking at this image I knew I would finally have an opportunity to justify purchasing this software. Thanks to the wonders of the internet this process was completed in under 30 minutes and I had the full capability of this software at my disposal. Anyway the software worked perfectly and allowed me to resize the image so that I could have it printed large. This was the way that I knew I wanted to showcase this image. All of the stars were in alignment technologically in this image. I had the right camera equipment and and the right post processing abilities to yield a very good result. It all started with the Hasselblad 300mm f/4.5 HC lens. Everything else would not have been possible if I had not had the longer telephoto length of this lens. Using any of the other lenses that I had had with me in Costa Rica whether it was my 80mm f/2.8 lens or the rented 120mm f/4 macro or the 35-90mm f/4.0-5.6 Â this shot would not have been possible. Even with the amazing versatility that the PhaseOne P65+ allows and the wonders of modern digital imaging processing any of these other tools would not have allowed me to be able yield a result anything near what this lens let me. This is the final printed image:

The final print of this image was done by Miller Photographic. I have used them for a couple of years now and they have been very good and consistent in their results. When they have made mistakes they have quickly fixed them. Although this may be something peculiar to me, It is very difficult for me to have a print on regular paper and not bend or dent it in some way. For this reason the finishing options that Miller’s offers have given me the ability to make this a non issues. They offer a number of different finishing options ranging from foam to harder materials likeÂ styrene. The latter is the option that I choose for most of my images. It is strong and firm and easy to carry without the risk of bending or ripping in any way. First I ordered Â two prints one from Photoshop’s internal resizing software and one from Perfect Resize 7′s processing of the enlargement. I had ordered them as simple paper prints figuring that the one I didn’t like I could throw away while I would still have one I liked to keep and then order a final one that I would mount onÂ styrene. However when they came they were both oddly bent and one of them had a rather significant tear in the upper right hand corner of it. I called Millers Photographic and they were very helpful and gave me a refund no questions asked and I was able to re-order the print that I liked which was theÂ styrene version mounted. This shows that you get what you pay for from a professional photographic printing service. This print is perfect in every way and I could not be happier with it. After minimal other post processing like simple sharpening and levels work this image was ready to print. It again shows that you get what you pay for in terms of a digital back. The dynamic range and other technical attributes of the large medium format digital sensor are astounding and the advantages are clearly visible in this image.

2. WAVES

This image was something completely different for me because I usually do not do long exposure photography. That said this image was only 4 seconds, but it is significantly longer then any other image that I have taken and have liked. This image was also taken at a smaller aperture then any other image I have produced. All and all it came out very well and better then I thought it would. Long exposures are not the PhaseOne P65+’s forte, however it was fully capable of producing low noise results for this long exposure. This image is another one of my favorites form this trip.

This picture is opposite to the lizard picture in almost every way. Opposite to the Lizard picture (shown above) this is a full quality image with no cropping in post. Also opposite to the Lizard image, this image was shot at f/45.0 instead of f/4.5. Here you can appreciate the optical quality of this lens. Although not apparent in the Lizard picture since it is cropped, even though it was shot wide open there was no vignetting and here at the smallest aperture there is no vignetting. I cannot comment on lens diffraction at this small aperture because this image was designed to inherently be blurry although I’m sure it would’ve preformed admirably.Â This image looks even better in person. Once it was printed by Miller Photographic, the colors of it can be really appreciated. This image was printed very large as a 30×40 print and it looks absolutely amazing. The thing to take away from this image about the PhaseOne P65+ digital back is that is dynamic range exceeds comprehension, just like its megapixel count.

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The 300mm focal length has become one of my favorites for medium format. I am not completely able to articulate why I think this focal length and this lens are especially good. Some of it comes from intimately using the lens and understanding what it can do in certain situations. This lens handles well and does everything that I would expect it to and more. I preforms well in many conditions. The Hasselblad website says that his lens is applicable for certain Nature and Sports applications. As the Lizard image illustrates in sufficient lighting conditions this lens can preform very well. The autofocus is as fast as you can expect for medium format. Especially in bright lighting conditions it is capable of locking focus very quickly and getting razor sharp results. Certain sports applications might be a stretch because it can’t be used for any of the most popular televised sports because they move to quickly. Something like tennis or golf where there are times that the players are posed might be a time it could be used however why wouldn’t you just use a 35mm system that has a higher FPS then the approximate 1fps that the PhaseOne P65+ has. Despite its obvious inadequacies for fast paced sports it is a very capable lens for its intended applications. Overall I am very pleased with this lens and although I do not plan on continuing with the Hasselblad H system, I do plan on continuing with the 300mm focal length for medium format photography.

Wow! this week Hasselblad announced the H4D-200ms it has a 200mp sensor, it must be 2.5x as good as the IQ1800……NOT. This is not a 200mp sensor. It is a 50mp sensor that can take 6 images (shouldn’t that be 300mp?I think I know that basic math). Well actually it scales down the megapixel count to 33.3mp and takes 6 images. Already there is the flaw in the argument. The concept of multishot technology is that it moves or shifts the sensor slightly allowing for exposures that are then merged together for a theoretical megapixel count of 200mp. In reality its a gimmick and hype. That is not to say that it is not an excellent camera and that it doesn’t have useful applications. Unfortunately you wont be able to take a 200mp picture of a person because they move, and 6 pictures takes a while at roughly 1 fps. Now the images that Hasselblad published with their media release are perfect examples of useful applications that this camera can have. In a studio in controlled conditions, and on a tripod, it can yield amazing results of subjects who can stand still, E.g a Â Merc SLS AMG or Omega watch.

Of course this is just a marketing gimmick. to fight back against PhaseOne and Leaf’s 80mp digital backs. This announcement shows that Hasselblad is taking their time or incapable of releasing an 80mp digital back at the moment. And since we all know if you sneeze on a leaf the moisture will fry the exposed insides as its plummeting towards the ground where it will soon shatter, it seems that PhaseOne is the dominant medium format digital back company at the moment. For give or take a few thousand 45,000 dollars the Hasselblad and Leaf significantly let down the user in terms of ergonomics, usability, and basically everything else that is important to a camera. This is unacceptable especially in cameras of this caliber.

I’ve been e-mailing the support over at the website zebraflash.com and have figured out a solution that will let me hardwire my Hasselblad H3Dii-39ms digital camera with my Nikon CLS (Creative Light System) SB-900 flashes.

The SB-900 flashes have a few advantages over the typical studio strobes (a la Profoto or Broncolor). The first advantage is size. These SB-900 flashes are significantly smaller then these which means they are much more portable and lighter solution to lighting. Also they do not require a power pack, which is required for studio strobes. Generally speaking, this term is a misnomer because the power pack simply is a conduit between the wall socket and the flash heads. Consequently you can only operate them in situations where you have outlet power or a generator (which again is more weight). The SB-900′s although significantly less powerful are generally acceptable for most applications. They have batteries contained within them making them again self contained and usable on their own.

Also the Nikon CLS Flashes are of course capable of being used with my Nikon D3s camera if I want to utilize both formats in the same shoot. Here it is as simple as unplugging the flash sync and changing the SB-900′s to remote mode and slipping the SU-400 commander unit into the Nikon D3s. The Nikon D3s is capable of both accepting the flash sync as well as wirelessly with the SU-400 commander unit.

This is my first medium format digital camera. It is truly a step up from DSLR cameras. You cannot use this camera in the same way that you would a DSLR. You cannot carry this around. Well you can but you look very strange. to prove this, I give you exhibit A – in Monaco at the Royal Oceanographic Institute I saw a gentleman carrying one of these. He had some H series camera with digital back and the 35mm-90mm lens. Now this would be ok if he was alone, it would mean he was a photographer doing something. However he was there with his wife and kids and was pushing a stroller. Now this looks stupid and weighs a ton. This camera will out preform anything that you have ever seen from a DSLR. See example 1 below.

This picture (Sample image 2) is one of the first pictures I took with the camera. Here it looks nice enough, Nice colors, well exposed, no grain. It looks like a technically good image (not talking bout subject matter or composition) but when you look at it at 100% the magic is revealed.

And there you have it, that is 100% crop of the center flower. That has total detail and is ridiculously sharp. This is amazing and along with the massive amount of data recorded with the raw files you can imagine the flexibility that this gives you.

It is very well built especially the back. I would say it is built more like a PhaseOne then a Leaf (see my reviews for comparison) It works well and all the buttons are easily accessible. Although it has more removable parts this is not an issue with one exception.

When meeting with Haselblad as well as other MDB manufacturers, I have been unable to fully articulate this point, however I will try again here. The grip on this camera, the part that you hold with your right hand doesnâ€™t feel secure. I am NOT saying I think its going to fall out or is not properly made on my example, I am saying it just doesnâ€™t feel secure. If you are not familiar with the Hasselblad H system (or Fuji GX645) then you need a bit of backstory to understand my perspective. The grip where you hold the camera, is the battery. This means it is removable, via a latch. For some reason this makes the camera feel less sturdy to me. I have talked about this problem further in my Mamiya and PhaseOne reviews, however I will say again here that I feel they are much more secure. Their grips (alone with the Leica S2â€™s) are secure and part of the body. Short of dropping the camera out of a second story window, nothing could detach them. However this is not the case with the Hasselblad. The H series camera has been (and arguable still is) the standard for professional photographers today. BUT you still have to find the camera that is right for you and I am less then pleased with the grip of this camera.

Otherwise all I can say is that this camera is quite pleasurable to own and use. It has some of the seem â€œissuesâ€ associated with medium format cameras such as smaller ISO range (a

nd poorer performance), bad screens and slow frames per second (FPS) fastest currently being about 1.5 FPS. But these are things you get used to quickly. You understand how to use the screen and are able to evaluate things from it. The simple solution to the lower ISO range and slower lenses is using a tripod. This means its one more thing you have to have in the car, or carry. But again its something to get used to. Anyway most of the time you will be using the camera for something you have planned making it easy to use a tripod. Another reason to use a tripod is even at higher shutter speeds there is still this risk of camera shake. Overall this is a very good medium format system, and I am glad I have the opportunity to own and use it.